Walled Off Hotel |

Three major headlines related to Banksy

London: Banksy enters the permanent collection of the British Museum

The British Museum in London has acquired its first work by the anonymous artist, a fake £10 banknote depicting Lady Diana, Princess of Wales, which will join its collection of coins, medals and other currency.
The work, entitled Di-faced Tenner, was one of thousands of copies produced by the artist in 2004 as part of a planned art performance. Unlike ‘Peckham Rock’, a fake cave painting on concrete , which was part of a 2005 stunt and loaned again to the museum for a recent exhibition on dissent and protest in 2018 (see our coverage here), the note has been donated to the museum by the artist’s representative Pest Control.

It is the only official banknote ever released by Banksy. Any other kind of currency note are simply NOT by the artist, so fans and buyers beware. And the Banksy Di-Face Tenner indicates on its back ‘Trust No One’.

Palestine: Banksy creates a new artwork at the Walled Off Hotel

Two years after the official opening his artivist hotel in Bethlehem, Banksy just revealed a new artwork inside the Walled Off Hotel.

Conveying a message of Love and Peace, the artwork depicts a little veiled girl playing with coloured 3d block shapes looking at a giant heart shaped hole in a concrete wall which shows a neon light blue sky. Looking closer the 3D block shapes on the floor are iconographic symbols of all monotheist religions, from the cross to the start and crescent. Messages of peace are graffitied on the wall while Banksy’s signature is engraved in the concrete.

Paris: Banksy’s tribute to Bataclan’s victims is stolen

Sadly less than seven months after Banksy painted his tribute on the fire-exit door of the Bataclan theatre, where Islamist militants killed 90 people three years ago, the artwork has been stolen, the venue has said.
The work, one of a series of murals during Banksy’s invasion of the French capital last June, showed a veiled female figure in a mournful pose. ( Check our initial coverage about the artwork here)
“We are today filled with a deep sense of indignation. The work of Banksy, a symbol of contemplation belonging to all – residents, Parisians and citizens of the world – has been taken from us,” the Bataclan said in a Twitter post. A police investigation continues.

Stay tuned for further updates

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10 years after his first initiative in Bethlehem, elusive British artist Banksy has returned to unveiled his latest project: The Walled Off Hotel , with 10 rooms nestled against the controversial barrier wall separating Israel from the Palestinian territories.

Located in the historic city, the hotel with its nine rooms for £30 a night and one presidential suite, will be open for bookings on its website later this month. It’s a real business adventure, aiming to bring jobs and tourists to a town whose pilgrim and sightseeing-based economy has been ravaged by ever tighter Israeli controls on travel between Israeli and Palestinian territories.

There have been few reasons for Israelis to visit Bethlehem in recent years, because they are banned by law from visiting the town and all its main tourist sites.

It contains dozens of Banksy works, a themed bar and interactive exhibits. One depicts the signing of the Balfour Declaration which set the conditions for the establishment of Israel 100 years ago this year.

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The hotel has been “decorated to resemble an English gentlemen’s club from colonial times” in recognition of the historical role Britain played in the region.

Banksy says people from all sides of the Middle East conflict are welcome to stay, and he is not affiliated to any political party or pressure group.

From the 11th March the museum and art gallery will be open to non-residents every day. Guests can peruse a collection of Banksy artworks that include vandalised oil paintings and statues choking on tear gas fumes. The gallery space enjoys complete autonomy from the rest of the hotel and is curated by the venerated historian and critic Ismal Duddera. He has assembled a permanent collection of real heft and significance. Many of the most notable Palestinian artists from the past 20 years are here – including Sliman Mansour with his iconic “And the Convoy Keeps Going”. An adjoining space is dedicated to temporary shows by upcoming artists.

The museum is dedicated solely to the biography of the wall. It contains state-of-the-art audio visual presentations and a very old tree. Other highlights includes an animated history of the region, military pornography and original beach sculpture from Gaza. The cinema plays excerpts from the mighty Oscar nominated ‘Five Broken Cameras’ – and one of those very same bullet-damaged cameras is on display.
Curated in association with Dr Gavin Grindon from Essex University the museum contains almost fully fact-checked material and will be an ongoing repository for local stories, artefacts and testimonies.

The Hotel also features a graffiti supplies store called ‘Wall – Mart’ that will launch on 20th March, providing supplies for clients who want to paint the Wall nearby.

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